Despite their short history, the multi-member The Mabon Dawud Republic have won wide acclaim for their popularisation of Afrobeat music in Hungary. Their music has even found its way to the authentic environment of Ghana, where in addition to studying the genre they also played alongside Pat Thomas, the highlife singer and one of the true greats of world music. Afrobeat is based on the West Africa highlife style and other traditional music forms. It came into being in the second half of the 1960s, when the local musicians were strongly influenced by American jazz and funk of the era. Fela Kuti became the undisputed king of the genre, and the Hungarian group The Mabon Dawud Republic first played together in a tribute to his memory, performing alongside Dele Sosimi no less, one of Fela's former bandmates. Their first full-length record, which contains self-written material and was released earlier this year, demonstrates how inspired they are as they play this pulsating, joyful music, full of wind instruments and percussion. Of course, they have always thrown in some original flavour to the mix, but now they are taking it to the next level. The Afro Jag show will showcase an encounter between afrobeat and Gypsy music featuring the singer Mónika Lakatos and Jenő Lisztes on the cimbalom. The artists will use authentic Roma music as their starting point as they seek to find the intersection of the two styles. The power of the performance will be further enhanced by Saïd Tichiti, the frontman of Chalaban with Moroccan roots.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest